WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #2 by Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth, and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
For as long as Spider-Man has thrilled readers with his web-swinging adventures, he has had one of the most colorful rogues galleries in all of comics. Unfortunately for the various villains who have made their careers out of tormenting the wall-crawler, their nemesis is now playing for keeps in the alternate reality series Spider’s Shadow series. In the latest incarnation of What If?, Peter Parker has given in to the murderous tendencies of the Venom symbiote.
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After Spider-Man violently dispatched the Hobgoblin in the previous issue, the Sinister Six has elected to reform and hunt down Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Symbiote’s Shadow #2, recruiting an unlikely new member in the process: J. Jonah Jameson.
Beyond the Hobgoblin, Spider-Man has been acting violently towards anyone who challenges him in recent days. After seeing a scathing headline on the front page of the Daily Bugle calling him a murderer, the now-bloodthirsty hero decided to pay Jameson a visit. After crashing through the window and crushing Jameson’s hand, Spider-Man left him with a dire warning that any subsequent stories with his name in them would come at a heavy price. Jameson isn’t the only one with serious concerns about Spider-Man’s new tactics, though, as several of his most iconic villains are also watching things unfold while wondering which of them will be next. After learning that he has dispatched three more of his foes, Doctor Octopus decides that it is time to get the band back together to deal with the wall-crawler permanently, and J. Jonah Jameson is inducted as their newest member.
Octavius and Jameson are joined by Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, the Rhino, and Electro to form the newest version of the Sinister Six, the classic team of Spider-Man villains who have fought Peter Parker for years. The first version of the team, introduced in 1964’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, was comprised of these very same villains, save for Rhino and Jameson, whose slots on the team were originally filled by the Vulture and Sandman. After breaking out of prison, these six super-criminals banded together for the express purpose of enacting the ultimate revenge on the hero who had put them all away. Of course, their plot failed, but the Sinister Six have remained an ever-changing presence in Spider-Man’s world.
Even though he has never been part of the team, Jameson is familiar with the other members and what they are capable of. He has even contributed to their ranks as the one directly responsible for having future member Mac Gargan transformed into the Scorpion. Considering that fact, as well as the brutality unleashed on him by Spider-Man, it’s no surprise that Jameson would once again turn to other costumed criminals to help him bring his nemesis to justice. The reformation of the Sinister Six also serves to highlight just how desperate all of these characters are to end Spider-Man’s reign of terror before they become his next victims. Although Jameson isn’t the same sort of powerhouse as future members such as Shriek or Venom, he does bring to the table what might be the team’s most valuable asset.
Not only are they still some of the most lethal villains that Spider-Man has ever come up against, but the Sinister Six now has the power of the press on their side as well. Jameson has never been one to scare away from a story, and nearly every previous attempt on his life has only ever made him dig his heels in further.
With him now on the roster, this incarnation of the Sinister Six could stand a better chance at defeating Spider-Man than ever before. If he can convince the people of New York City that the Sinister Six are for once the good guys, the web-slinger might just lose what little public support he has left, and that could very well be the most powerful weapons his enemies have to use against him.
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